Debating the Ethics of Immigration

Is There a Right to Exclude?

Christopher Heath Wellman and Phillip Cole

The book has a clear focus on philosophical theory and ethical argument, referring to economic and other evidence for the positions taken where this is helpful, but making it clear that what is ultimately at stake is the morality of border controls.

Each author sets out a distinct and thought-provoking position on the ethics of immigration, with Christopher Wellman arguing that legitimate states have the right to have any immigration regime they want, and Phillip Cole arguing that national borders should be completely open.

By setting out what may seem to be radical positions, Wellman and Cole succeed in showing clearly what is at stake when it comes to the ethics of migration policy.

Debating the Ethics of Immigration

Is There a Right to Exclude?

Christopher Heath Wellman and Phillip Cole

Description

Do states have the right to prevent potential immigrants from crossing their borders, or should people have the freedom to migrate and settle wherever they wish? Christopher Heath Wellman and Phillip Cole develop and defend opposing answers to this timely and important question. Appealing to the right to freedom of association, Wellman contends that legitimate states have broad discretion to exclude potential immigrants, even those who desperately seek to enter. Against this, Cole argues that the commitment to the moral equality of all human beings - which legitimate states can be expected to hold - means national borders must be open: equal respect requires equal access, both to territory and membership; and that the idea of open borders is less radical than it seems when we consider how many territorial and community boundaries have this open nature. In addition to engaging with each other's arguments, Wellman and Cole address a range of central questions and prominent positions on this topic. The authors therefore provide a critical overview of the major contributions to the ethics of migration, as well as developing original, provocative positions of their own.

Debating the Ethics of Immigration

Is There a Right to Exclude?

Christopher Heath Wellman and Phillip Cole

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTIONFREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND THE RIGHT TO EXCLUDEIn Defense of the Right to ExcludeThe Egalitarian Case for Open BordersThe Libertarian Case for Open BordersThe Democratic Case for Open BordersThe Utilitarian Case for Open BordersRefugeesToward an International Institution with Authority of ImmigrationGuest WorkersSelection CriteriaConclusionOPEN BORDERS: AN ETHICAL DEFENCEThe Shape of the DebateThe Case Against the Right to ExcludeWellman on Freedom of AssociationConsequentialist ConcernsTowards a Right to MobilityConclusionIndex

Debating the Ethics of Immigration

Is There a Right to Exclude?

Christopher Heath Wellman and Phillip Cole

Author Information

Christopher Heath Wellman is Professor of Philosophy at Washington University in St. Louis and Professorial Fellow at CAPPE, Charles Sturt University. He works in ethics, specializing in political and legal philosophy. His most recent book, coauthored with Andrew Altman, is A Liberal Theory of International Justice.

Phillip Cole is Professor of Applied Philosophy at the University of Wales, Newport. He has written extensively on the ethics of migration, including Philosophies of Exclusion: Liberal Political Theory and Immigration. He is currently writing a book on the ethics of emigration.

Debating the Ethics of Immigration

Is There a Right to Exclude?

Christopher Heath Wellman and Phillip Cole

Reviews and Awards

"Wellman and Cole have written a deeply useful book.... They display an admirable sense of how to disagree with grace and dignity; the book is a model for how to disagree, even about foundational moral issues, without resorting to invective or ridicule. Indeed, the book might be shows to advanced undergraduates to learn the craft of respectful disagreement. The arguments are well-crafted and well-presented. The book is sufficiently pruned of unnecessary technical terminology that it might easily serve as a text for undergraduate classes, but the arguments are sophisticated enough to repay the reading of professionals."--Michael Blake, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews